Follow my nerdy adventures of getting into shape and becoming a healthier pirate.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

A Fan Girl's Moment of Clarity : The Out of Body Work Out Experience

This is a late night ramble is brought to you by copious amounts of  Netflix and mid-afternoon coffee.


I am such a fan girl. I truly am. I geek out over almost everything that is near and dear to me. And lately, the near and dear has been Netflix’s stunning Defenders series. Daredevil. Jessica Jones. Now, Luke Cage and soon Iron Fist. I know the Punisher is not a part of the whole Defender troop but he’s getting his own series so I’m mentioning him. I prefer these superheroes. The ones in the grim and grit and truly getting an ass beaten. The Avengers are nice, but, they are a little too flashy for me.


I know what you’re wondering: where the hell am I going with this? How does a discussion about the B Team Marvel superheroes got to do with a fitness quest? Honestly…everything!

Here’s a hint into my head space. How I get through my work outs…I tell a stories to myself. I remove myself from reality. I know, sounds crazy (and I’m not denying that I may be a tiny bit loony tunes). But it works. Got zombies chasing you? Better run faster because they want your tasty brains. Hitching a ride with the Doctor? Hunting demons with the Winchesters? You see where I’m going with this.

Today, while freezing my backside off at bootcamp, I felt myself go to a different place. It was a subtle shift. We were doing back and forth sprints. My stride changed. It was longer, it was faster. I was no longer in Oklahoma City. I was in Hell’s Kitchen trying to keep up with the Punisher and Jessica Jones. It was an instant, but it was enough to make me feel like a total bad ass. It was a moment of clarity of a work out that I could not DREAM of doing six months ago. But there I was, acting like I was some super hero. It was all in my head. But it was what I needed to get me through the work out. If I didn’t complete sprints or the jumps or the gorilla walks or the burpies (burpies…ugh…) then I wouldn’t be able to keep up with The Punisher.

For some reason, my mind keeps going back to the Punisher. Not the Tom Jane Punisher. Netflix’s Daredevil Season Two Punisher. Which, can we step aside from my weird fitness motivations and talk about Punisher? Jon Bernthal (whose name I just learned. I was calling him Shane from Walking Dead) was refreshingly and unapologetically awful and wonderful all at once. He was Frank Castle. He was Punisher. Sure, he’s the classic archetypal anti-hero, but Jon Bernthal added emotion to the character without making him soft (like Tom Jane).


Anywho…

Fitness. Working out. Healthy shit.

I know most people focus on their breathing and form and all sorts of things when working out. Me? I can’t do that. I can’t be in my head space like that. Maybe  Maybe it’s the writer in me. I prefer to just let my mind drift, finding inspiration in my racing heart, pulse pounding, the smell of sweat and ragged breathing. Those things take me to the place where I can aspire to be…well…a superhero. But not a shiny ones. The ones who put in the work, the ones who are get busted up a little too easily. Why? Well, you don’t see Daredevil giving up…do you?

If you need some motivation let me say this to you: Never give up. Never surrender. And always Slay On Playa. I would assume that’s what Jessica Jones and Luke Cage would do anyway…

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